One of the advantages of being an extreme commuter is the opportunity to hear the excellent stories on National Public Radio. This week I was intrigued to hear about "Encore Fellowships." After a short amount of research time, this is what I found out.
The "Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act" was signed into law on April 21, 2009, and went into effect on October 1, 2009. It is the reauthorization and expansion of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) administers the programs authorized by this legislation. One of the new provisions of the law is that it: "Authorizes a new Encore Fellowship program to allow Corporation-selected individuals aged 55 or older to serve at organizations on a Corporation-maintained list, supported by $11K grants (under a $1 for $1 match) to the organization for Fellow living expenses. 75% non-Federal match required for the first year, 50% non-Federal match required in subsequent years."
Evidently this program is modeled on succesful pilot programs described in the NPR story.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113856732 Further information will be provided by the CNCS as the details are finalized. I am looking forward to the development of this program.
Also of interest are the changes to some provisions of the Senior Corps program, a part of the Serve America Act. The miniumum age for participation in the Foster Grandparents Program and Senior Companion Program was lowered from 60 to 55. Another change is to the specific purpose of the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). It is to provide opportunities for older volunteers to share their knowledge, experience, abilities, and skills for the betterment of their communities and themselves. Their website is worth touring: http://www.seniorcorps.gov/about/programs/rsvp.asp if only for awareness of another federal program few people seem to know about!
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